Creating Devotional Art with Body Fragments: The Buddhist Nun Bunchi and Her Father, Emperor Gomizuno-o

Abstract

This article explores the relic-making activities of the Buddhist nun Bunchi, the eldest daughter of Emperor Gomizuno-o and founder of the imperial convent Enshō-ji in Nara. Influenced by her father's preoccupation with placing his own bodily relics, especially teeth, in Kyoto Zen temples, Bunchi created a variety of devotional objects using his bodily relics. These include several tablets inscribed with myōgō (names of Buddhist deities written as invocations) made with her father's fingernail clippings and a clay statue of Gomizuno-o with some of his hair inserted. She also transcribed sutras using some of her own blood. Bunchi's works are introduced and analyzed in connection with the tradition of relic worship in Japan. The motivation underlying the creating and placing of relics by father and daughter are also discussed.